"Just remember, God is real." – Kathleen Folder
I’m not sure if I should refer Kathleen Folder to vjack as a Christian terrorist or simply report on her lunacy as a religious nutball. What she did and why she did it provide compelling reasons for both approaches. Her crime - she drove hundreds of miles, crossing state lines in the process, to destroy a piece of art that she found offensive.
56-year-old Kathleen Folden of Kalispell was arrested on Wednesday at a museum in Loveland, Colorado after witnesses say she smashed the glass protecting a piece of artwork, and then tore up part of the print.
She thought the art, a print called The Misadventures of Romantic Cannibals Byenrique chagoya , depicted Jesus engaged in a sex act. The artists says that it was “a collage showing that the church has corrupted spirituality.”
She’s a hero of sorts now – an anonymous person posted her bond. I’m sure her crime will inspire others to emulate her actions.
What bothers me about this nutball is her preempting my rights to view the piece and form my own opinion, and have my own opinions. I found Piss Christ completely unappealing, but I enjoyed the evocative thought process that viewing it inspired. Nutball’s like Folden deny me the right to think, and they do so in name of their religion.
I found one aspect of this story interesting – the man who publicized the artwork by organizing protests, did not want to see it’s destruction (he wanted it censored instead). He claims he would have prevented the vandalism if he had known about it.
A deacon who organized protests against the artwork says if he had known a woman was going to destroy it, he would have tried to stop her.
Deacon Ed Armijo of St. John Evangelist Catholic Church had organized some of the protests against the piece of art called "The Misadventures of Romantic Cannibals" which depicts a man who appears to be Jesus engaging in a sex act with a man. Many have called it "smut" and asked that it be removed. Supporters say it speaks about the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal.
Art is meant to evoke though. Inhibiting thought is evil.
